Beth Aaron Holds Seminary Fete

Beth Aaron Synagogue inaugurated its observance of the Jewish
Theological Seminary's 80th anniversary with a reception at the
residence of William I. Liberson, 19160 Parkside. Looking on as
Jack Shenkman greets Alfred L. Deutsch, a member of the
Seminary's national board of overseers, are (from left) Arthur
Faber, Beth Aaron's Seminary chairman; Joseph Sulkes, president
of the congregation; Rabbi Benjamin H. Gorrelick; and Joseph
Braver.

`A Square of Sky': Story of Girl Who Survived Nazism

"A Square of Sky" by Janina
David, published by W. W. Norton
& Co., is the recollection of a
childhood. It is the story of a
young girl who was born in Poland
in 1930, in a home of affluence,
who suddenly was uprooted, who
lived in the Warsaw Ghetto during
the tragic era of Nazi oppression,
who managed to escape to a Chris-
tian friend and lived with her on
the other side of the ghetto from
1943 — just before the Ghetto Re-
volt—until 1946, when she left her
native land.
Her story leads up to the point
of great danger when it became
necessary for her to leave her par-
ents behind and go to the other
side of the ghetto walls, and her
parents undoubtedly perished.
Upon leaving Poland in 1946,

after liberation, she was in an in-
ternational orphanage in Paris.
Before her 18th birthday she emi-
grated of Australia, supported her-
self by working in a factory, con-
tinued her education and was grad-
uated from Melbourne University.
In 1958 she settled in England and
is now associated with a social
service department in a London
hospital.
"A Square of Sky" is a per-
sonal document. It is an account
of relationships with the non-
Jewish neighbors and friends,
and with the Jews in the ghetto.
Her father became a policeman
in the ghetto. It is possible, from
the knowledge we have of what
had transpired, that this protected
him and his family for several
years, that if not for that Janina

might not have survived.

And there was the help she
received from the Christian friend
that helped her escape.

The book is remarkable for one
thing: for the memory of a young
girl who was able to reconstruct
her experiences during the years
when she was 9, until her 13th
birthday. It reveals in great meas-
ure some of the greed that is in-
evitable in a struggle for survival.
It shows in rather small measure
the role of the Germans. Perhaps
it was the protection this girl had
that rescued her from some of the
more atrocious acts that are now
a matter of record.
Because she writes without self-
pity, objectively, Janina's story
assumes some significance.

•

Quiz About Chevra Kadisha

By RABBI SAMUEL J. FOX

(Copyright, 1966, JTA, Inc.)

What is "Chevra Kadisha?"
The technical translation of the
expression "Chevra Kadisha" is
"Holy Society." This was a term
which was originally given to a
congregation or to a Jewish or-
ganization dedicated to some al-
truistic purpose. It was in the sev-
enteenth century that this term
became known as the name for a
special Jewish , organization whose
function it was to care for the ill
and for the dead from the moment
of their demise through burial.
Why were these societies or-
ganized?
It is obvious that such societies
functioned as communal agencies
as early as in Talmudic times.
Rabbi Hamnuna, in the fourth
century, spoke of finding one in
existence in a place called "Daru
Mata." The original responsibil-
ity of caring for the dying and the
dead until burial was that of the
next of kin, i.e. the family. They
were to fast until they took care
of this responsibility. Upon the
coming into existence of communal
responsibility, the responsibility
of the family ended when they
handed over the corpse to the com-
munity officials. It then became
the responsibility of the commu-
nity to care for the dead from de-
mise through burial. In such a case
no one in the community was per-
mitted to go about his work until
this had been accomplished. Then
there developed a situation where
special committees, organizations
or functionaries assumed this re-
sponsibility, thus relieving the
community as a whole of direct
involvement in this responsibility.
Rabbi Eliezer Ashkenazi, in the
sixteenth century, is credited with
laying the formal foundations in
modern times for an efficient
burial society.
Are members of the Chevra

Redeems Mortgage
for Mishkan Israel

Kadish allowed to take payment
for their functions?
Basically and originally this was
not a task for which one sought
monetary reward. However, in ac-
cordance with certain decisions in
the responsa, it appears that condi-
tions occured wherein such organ-
izations would have lacked the ne-
cessary manpower if compensa-
tion was not permissible. In order
to assure the continuation of this
function the officials of some
Chevra Kadishas were paid by func-
tionaries of the community. Some
worked it out, as was the case
with other religious functionaries,
that the payment was not for the
actual duty performed (whose
value was infinite and beyond
measure) but rather to compensate
the individual for the time he had
to give up from earning his live-
lihood in the usual way. (S'char
Batalah).

Soviet Officials Name
New Synagogue Head

LONDON (JTA) — Jacob Sheve-
lev has been named by Soviet au-
thorities as the new chairman of
the Marina Roshcha Synagogue, a
house of worship located in a Mos-
cow suburb, it was reported from
the Soviet capital. Shevelev suc-
ceeds the late George . Lieb, who
had headed that congregation for
some years.
According to information avail-
able here, Shevelev had been close-
ly associated with the late Lieb
in their efforts to follow the of-
ficial government "explanations"
to the effect that there is no anti-
Semitism in the Soviet Union and
that there are no discriminations
in the USSR against Jewish culture
and religion.

Emanu-El to Mark
14th Anniversary

Temple Emanu-El will hold its
14th anniversary service 8:15 p.m.
today, with Rabbi Maurice Davis
of the Indianapolis Hebrew Con-
gregation as guest speaker on
"The State of Reform Judaism."
Active in both the Jewish and
general community, Rabbi Davis
serves as national chairman of the
commission on the family and the
home of the Central Conference of
American Rabbis and on the goV-
ernor's commission on aging and
migratory labor and on many
boards and funds.
Leading members of the congre-
gation will take part in the service,
and an oneg Shabbat will follow.

Shalom 48-day cruise.
Shalom 8 countries.
Shalom 12 ports.
Shalom 9 days in Israel

during the
High Holidays with
the ship as hotel.

Shalom fr m

eans a s erra yespecial thheal t l J O
. un s t e w
t hhaa tt ' st h w i s a r m
iendly
48-day cruise of cruises will be.
Leave New York on August 30, 1966 and
sail to Madeira, Lisbon, Palermo, Haifa,
Istanbul, Piradus, port of Athens, Dubrovnik,
Venice, Naples, Cannes, Palma de Majorca
and Las Palmas in the Canary Islands.
There will be plenty of time in each port,
and optional shore excursions are available
in all of them.
The stop in Haifa is really unusual. First of all,
you will be there for nine days. You'll arrive
in time to celebrate the New Year 5727 and
to join in the joyous celebration. Of course,
the ship is your hotel in Israel as it is in all the
ports. This means you don't have the
bother of finding hotel accommodations
(and, during the holidays, that's next to
impossible). What's more, there are no
customs formalities or unpacking and
repacking and you can enjoy all the Shalom
facilities including her three swimming
pools, luxurious public rooms and delicious
kosher cuisine.
Reservations for this exciting cruise are
going fast, but choice accommodations
are still available. For a full-color
brochure that will tell you everything
you want to know, call or write Zim
or see your travel agent.

,

1st Kansas City Day School

Isidore Sosnick (seated, right),
executive vice president of Mish-
kan Israel Nusach Hari Luba-
vitcher Center, completes the
transaction of redeeming the
synagogue mortgage. With him
is Bill Schultz of Lawyers Title
and (standing, from left), Rabbi
Jacob Kranz, spiritual leader of
the congregation, and Isadore
Starr, attorney and secretary of
the synagogue.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (JTA) —
Plans were announced here for
the establishment of the first
Hebrew all-day school in Kansas
City scheduled to open next fall
with first and second grades. The
school, to be known as the Hebrew
Academy of Greater Kansas City,
will also have a kindergarten and
third grade during its first year
of operation if there is sufficient
demand for these grades.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, January 21, 1966-15

BE ATIES1 .G0

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